Accept Lightning Payments From Kraken Users

Yes. Kraken users can send bitcoin over the Lightning Network, and any business that accepts Lightning through the Amboss Payments API can receive those payments directly. Kraken added Lightning support in 2022, per CoinDesk's report on the integration plan, so Kraken Lightning withdrawals can settle to you in seconds, with the rail invisible to the payer.

Does Kraken support Lightning?

Yes, for both deposits and withdrawals. Kraken integrated the Lightning Network so customers can move a bitcoin balance on and off the exchange near instantly. To pay you, a verified Kraken user withdraws bitcoin over Lightning to the invoice your checkout displays.

The Kraken support page on sending bitcoin over Lightning describes the requirement directly:

To send bitcoin on the Lightning Network your Kraken account must be verified.

Bitcoin Magazine reported the rollout and the amount available at launch in its coverage of Kraken integrating the Lightning Network:

Customers can now deposit and withdraw up to 0.1 BTC with instant and cheap Lightning payments.

Treat that 0.1 BTC figure as a launch number. Limits can change over time and may vary by region and verification level, so confirm the current ceiling on the Kraken support site.

How do you receive payments from Kraken users?

You do not build a Kraken integration. You accept Lightning once and every Kraken user becomes a potential payer. The flow is four steps:

1. Integrate the Amboss Payments API and create a Lightning invoice for the order amount.
2. Show the invoice to the customer as a QR code or a copyable string at checkout.
3. The customer pastes or scans it and confirms a Lightning withdrawal from their verified Kraken account.
4. The payment routes over Lightning and settles to you in seconds. You fulfill the order.

This is how Kraken payments reach a Lightning-enabled business without the customer ever choosing a "rail" or holding a Bitcoin account with you. Live network capacity and routing data are published on the Amboss Space Lightning explorer.

How do you integrate Kraken receiving into checkout?

Receiving from Kraken is the standard Lightning receive flow: create an invoice, then confirm settlement. A Lightning invoice is a self-contained string defined by the BOLT 11 payment-encoding specification, so the same code path accepts Kraken, Cash App, Strike, and any other Lightning sender.

The Amboss Payments API is GraphQL. A single create_receive mutation returns the BOLT 11 invoice you show the customer:

mutation CreateReceive {
  payment {
    transaction {
      create_receive(
        input: {
          wallet_id: "your-wallet-id"
          amount: "50000"
          description: "Order #1234"
        }
      ) {
        status
        payment_request
        payment_hash
      }
    }
  }
}

Send it to the https://rails.amboss.tech/graphql endpoint with your x-api-key. The payment_request field is the lnbc... string you render as a QR code, and you confirm settlement with the payment.completed webhook, as documented in the Amboss Payments API documentation. Lightning settles atomically, so there is no pending state that reverses a week later.

Where does Amboss Payments fit?

Lightning is an open standard, which is why a single integration receives from every wallet. The Lightning specification describes it plainly:

a layer-2 protocol for off-chain bitcoin transfer by mutual cooperation, relying on on-chain transactions for enforcement if necessary.

Amboss Payments gives you that integration as a managed API, with no node to operate, so the work of accepting a Kraken customer is the same as accepting anyone else on the Lightning Network. If you want to talk through volume, settlement, or pricing, contact the Amboss team.